Shoe construction with diagonal lacing



June 30, 1953 M. D. HERCEG SHOE CONSTRUCTION WITH DIAGONAL LACING FiledMarch 17. 1951 luvsufon Ma 22D. JZ eJ-ceg ATTORNEYS Patented June 30,1953 OFFICE SHOE CONSTRUCTION WITH DIAGONAL I LACING MattD. Herceg,Stockton, alif. I Application March 1'7, 1951., serialNo. 216,189

2 Claims. (Cl. SGT- 8.5,)

This invention relates in general to shoe construction.

The major object of the present invention is to provide a shoeconstruction wherein the upper of the shoe, particularly in the quarterthereof, is designed so that an effective portion of the lacing, or likeconnecting means, extends at a diagonal to the last. The lacing, exceptat the top-which is straight across-diagonals from the outsiderearwardly toward the inside.

The advantages of diagonaled lacing, as above, are that the foot ispermitted greater freedom of motion in the shoe; binding or chafing ofthe shoe over the instep is avoided; foot motion is equalized as isweight distribution; and pressure on the great toe-which producesbunionsis eliminated.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a shoeconstruction, and lacing therefor, which permits the wearer toeffectively regulate the pressure of the shoe over the instep, and tothe extent necessary for utmost foot comfort.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shoe construction, andlacing therefor, which prevents undue tiring of the feet; this beingespecially desirable for persons who, in the course of their work, standor walk long hours.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a shoe construction andlacing which is simple and capable of ready and economical manufac-'ture.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a shoe constructionwith diagonal lacing which is practical and reliable, and yet exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the followingspecification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a mans oxford, of blucher type, embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the lacing, as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a mans oxford, of bal type, embodying theinvention.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawings, the invention is here embodied in an oxford, indicatedgenerally at I, of the blucher type; such oxford including-in theupper-a vamp 2 extending into the toe 3, a heel 4, and a quarter betweenthe vamp 2 and heel 4 which comprises an out- 2 sideequarten-portion 5and an inside, quarter portion-6.;

In a blucher type oxford the outside quarter portion 5 and insidequarter portion 6 embody, at the forward part thereof, the overlaps; theoutside overlap being indicated at l and the inside overlap at 8.

Conventionally, the overlaps of a blucher type oxford are of the samelength, but in the present shoe construction the inside overlap 8 is ofsubstantially lesser length; i. c. has less forward projection than theoutside overlap 'I. This feature is clearly shown in Fig. 1, and thepurpose is to assure of unrestriction and freedom from pressure on thetransverse arch rearwardly of the great toe and in that zone, of thevamp 2, indicated at 9, and which zone is deformed outwardly or swelledslightly in the present shoe construction.

It is also desired that the lacing, indicated generally at I0, extenddiagonally-except at the immediate top portion-between the outsideoverlap I and the inside overlap 8; the diagonal being rearwardly andinwardly from said overlap l to the overlap 8.

The preferred form or arrangement of the lacing I0 is as follows:

Each of the overlaps 1 and 8 is formed with an upper pair oftransversely spaced eyelets, indicated at I I and I2, respectively, andtherebelow with an intermediate pair of transversely spaced eyelets,indicated at I3 and I4, respectively. Below the pair of eyelets I3 theoverlap I is formed with a longitudinal row of eyelets I5, IE, and I I,while a single eyelet I8 is formed on the overlap 8 below the pair ofeyelets I4.

The threading of the lacing I0 through the above described assembly ofeyelets is as follows; the threading from the top side being shown inFig. 1 and from the bottom side in Fig. 2.

One reach I 9 of the lacing I0 extends from the eyelet l1 under theoverlap 1 to and passes through the upper pair of eyelets I I, beingabove said overlap between such eyelets. From the eyelets I I the reachI9 runs into the bow 20.

The other reach 2| is threaded in the following order:

From the eyelet I1 said other reach 2| runs to the eyelet I8, passingthrough it from below, then extends to the outermost one of the eyeletI4, passing through it from above. From said outermost eyelet I4 thereach ZI extends to the eyelet IG, passing likewise through it fromabove. The reach 2| then diagonal to the innermost one of the eyeletsI4, passing through it from above,

and returns to the eyelet i5, likewise passing through the latter fromabove. From the eyelet IS, the reach 2| extends under the outsideoverlap l to the outermost one of the eyelets l3, passing through itfrom above, and thence extends to and passes downwardly through theother of said eyelets l3. From said other eyelet 13 the reach 2|diagonals to the outermost one of the eyelets l2, passing through itfrom below, thence extending to and passing downwardly through theinnermost one of said eyelets [2. Thus, from the pairs of eyelets II andI2 the free ends of the lacing 10 extend for tying of the bow 20.

With the overlaps I and 8 formed as described, with diagonal lacing I0threaded as above, the shoe can be tied with the pressures applied bythe lacing other than in the swelled zone 9 of the vamp 2. This is anadvantageous feature as it assures against binding or pinching on theinstep directly to the rear of the great toe, and

further, pressure is not imposed on such toe,'

and which pressure otherwise tends to produce bunions.

The tongue of the shoe is indicated at 22, and if desired such tonguemay have a soft or cushioned inner facing.

The invention is shown in Fig. 3 as embodied in a bal type shoe, andhere the eyelets and lacing assembly, indicated generally at 23, isexactly the same as in Fig. 1, except that here the eyelets are directlyin the outside quarter portion 24 and inside quarter portion 25,respectively; there being no overlaps as in the blucher type of Fig. 1.However, the same effect or relief in the vamp 26 in the zone 21rearwardly of the great toe and ahead of the inside quarter portion 25is attained. This is accomplished by slightly outwardly swelling thezone 21, and also by providing a rolled portion 28 immediately adjacentthe stitched connection of the vamp 26 with the quarter portions 24 and25 of the shoe.

As an additional aid, providing greater support along the inner side ofthe ankle of the wearer, the inside quarter portion 25 may be formed ofand balance of the foot in the shoe is attained, and this is mostimportant to prevent undue tiring of the feet and undesirablemal-positioning of the parts thereof.

By spanning the lacing between the eyelets of the pairs ll, I2, and I3,and between the outermost one of the eyelets l4 and the eyelet [8, thereis a definite tendency to prevent the lacing assembly from exertingdownward pressure on the overlaps and 8, this being an additionalfeature of the invention which enhances foot comfort.

Although the lacing and quarter arrangement here shown and describedgives the best results, such arrangement can be reversed and still pro-.vide improved comfort over what is obtainable with conventionalconstruction.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there hasbeen produced such an article of manufacture as substantially fulfillsthe objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the article of manufacture, still in practice suchdeviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form adeparture from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appendedclaims.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new anduseful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

1. In a shoe which includes inside and outside quarter portions, rows ofeyelets along the adjacent edges of said portions, and lacing threadedbetween said rows of eyelets with substantially all of the cross-oversdiagonaling rearwardly from the outside quarter portion to the insidequarter portion; each row including a pair of transversely spacedeyelets, and the adjacent part of the lacing spanning between andextendin down v through said pairs of eyelets.

greater height than the outside quarter'portion 2. In a shoe whichincludes inside and outside quarter portions, eyelets formed in eachquarter portion with lengthwise spacing and lacing threaded between saideyelets in a manner such that substantially all the cross-overs of thelacing diagonal rearwardly from one quarter portion to the other quarterportion.

MATT D. HERCEG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,616,818 Niemi Feb. 8, 1927 2,345,820 Kohn Apr. 4, 1944

